Archived decisions

Ref No:

HR03

R

HAT Submission to the

Children and Young People Select Committee

HAT:

Hart and Rushmoor

Date of submission:

28th November

2007

SUBMISSION

Submission Made to: Chair and Vice Chair of the Children and Young People

Select Committee

Copies to: Cllr Patricia Banks - Executive Member for Children and Families

Cllr John Maxwell - HAT Chairman - Basingstoke and Deane

Cllr Sam James - HAT Chairman - East Hampshire

Emma Gordon - Scrutiny Officer

John Coughlan - Director of Children's Services

Jennie Polyblank - County Service Manager (Family Placement)

Kate Hart - Area Director North (Children and Families)

Vanessa Courtney - Head of County Services (Children's Services)

Submission relating to: Recruitment and payment of Foster Carers in Hampshire

Recommendation: The HAT for Hart and Rushmoor would like to recommend that the Children and Young People Select Committee carry out an detailed investigation into the recruitment and payment of foster carers in Hampshire.

Context: (supporting evidence)

The HAT for Hart and Rushmoor received a generic briefing from Children's Services on 11^th July 2007 which included information on Foster Care services.

At this meeting there was a lengthy discussion about the low numbers of foster carers being recruited in the North of the county (only 49 carers compared to 150 in South East and South West Hampshire). It was stated that one of the key factors affecting recruitment is the amount of money the County Council pays its foster carers in comparison to neighbouring authorities and independent foster providers.

HAT members were extremely concerned about this and wished to find out further information. Officers from the Foster Care Team were invited to the HAT meeting on the 14^th of September to present the following information:

· What processes are currently in place to recruit new carers?

· How does the County Council advertise for carers and what types of publicity are used?

· What are the current rates paid to foster carers by Hampshire in comparison to other local authorities?

As a result of the information provided by officers the HAT established that:

A lot of time and resources are being put into recruiting foster carers and a large number of different marketing techniques are being used. North Hampshire (which includes Basingstoke, Hart, Rushmoor and East Hants) has been a priority for marketing and the percentage of recruitment activity currently being directed into the north can be seen in the table below.

Spend on Foster Carer Recruitment from 1 Apr - 25 Oct 07

£

% of spend

County

33770.50

58.90%

North

12618.12

22.01%

South East

4848.22

8.46%

South West

6097.10

10.63%

57333.94

Despite this focus only 224 of the 651 enquiries a year from prospective carers come from the north of the county (please see appendix one).

2) There is an extremely aggressive market with bordering local authorities, independent fostering agencies and voluntary sector providers, particularly in the north. Statistics show that Hampshire County Council pays the lowest allowance to foster carers in the whole of the South East of England, for example, Hampshire pays £146.09 for the care of an 11-15 year old whereas Medway pays £311.92 (please see appendix two). It is important to note that direct comparisons are not always helpful since Hampshire has a basic allowance with a set of skills fees payable on top, depending on experience. Whereas other local authorities may just have one set "allowance" for all carers. However, what is very clear is the fact that Independent Fostering Agencies are offering way in excess of the fees and allowances paid by any local authorities, often up to £700 a week.

3). Unfortunately, due to the difficulty of recruiting in-house foster carers, there are insufficient carers to meet the current demand for placements. Therefore just over 30% of children, (71 out of 232), in the north of Hampshire are being placed with independent fostering providers. Not only is this expensive it also causes further recruitment problems since foster carers are more likely to work for independent agencies if they are offering much higher fees.

A simple answer to improve recruitment rates of foster carers would be for the County Council to increase its fees in line with other competing local authorities and to make itself more competitive in relation to independent fostering agencies. However, HAT members fully appreciate that this issue is very complex and any recommendation would need to involve looking at the whole package including support services for carers and children, respite care, kinship care, etc.

This is an important issue for the whole County that should be investigated properly. The HAT believe that the current situation is unacceptable and cannot be sustained. The HAT would therefore like to recommend that the Children and Young People Select Committee carry out a formal investigation into the recruitment and payment of Hampshire Foster Carers to identify any improvements and/or options for a way forward.

Response :

From:

Date: